Good morning Her Campus! With a break-neck news cycle, there is no possible way for you to stay on top of every story that comes across your feeds—we’re all only human, after all.
But, life comes at you fast. So grab a cup of coffee and settle in for this quick and dirty guide to stories you might’ve been sleeping on (like, literally. It’s early.)
DHS Announces That It Will End Protections for El Salvadoran Immigrants
It was announced by the Trump Administration that it would be ending the protected status for El Salvador, affecting the nearly 260,000 El Salvadoran immigrants that currently have live here and Temporary Protected Status (TPS), ABC News reports.
TPS is a special immigration designation that for individuals from countries that the U.S. deems to be unable to handle the return of its people due to its conditions, ABC News reports.
According to ABC News, the El Salvadoran immigrants will have until Sept. 9, 2019 in order to change their legal status or leave the United States, otherwise they could face deportation.
This, however, is just the latest in a series of suspensions of protected status for countries. At the end of last year, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that the protected status for Haitians would end on July 22, 2019; Sudan’s protected status will end in November and Nicaragua’s will end in January of next year, ABC News reports.
El Salvador was originally given protect status in 2001, according to ABC News, after a series of earthquakes damaged its infrastructure, but now DHS has determined that the damage caused by the earthquakes no longer exists.
DHS says that only Congress can provide a permanent solution to address the immigration status for these immigrants.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), who introduced legislation in November along with Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Diane Feinstein (D-CA) that would allow TPS individuals to apply for permanent residency, was ashamed of DHS’ decision.
“This decision is shameful, but sadly it’s not surprising. The United States has long been a beacon of hope across the world, welcoming and protecting immigrants fleeing violence and turmoil — and it has deeply enriched our nation. These families work in our communities, open businesses in our state, and go to school with our children,” Van Hollen said.
U.S. Hits Record for Damages Caused by Natural Disasters
It was a crazy end to for 2017 and beginning for 2018 in terms of weather. From hurricanes to wildfires, the weather has has been insane, and the natural disasters devastating.
According to USA Today, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that the hurricane and wildfire seasons together caused a record $306 billion in damages, which is a new record for the U.S.
The previous record was in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters caused nearly $215 billion in damages, USA Today reports.
“It was also the most expensive hurricane season on record at $265 billion and the costliest wildfire season on record at $18 billion,” NOAA climatologist Adam Smith said.
The NOAA reported that Hurricane Harvey had a total of $125 billion in damages, coming in second to Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Maria cost around $90 billion in damages, and Irma around $50 billion, making it the third- and fifth-costliest disasters on record, respectively.
According to Smith, climate change is playing a big part in these natural disasters, remarking that it’s “playing an increasing role in the increasing frequency of some types of extreme weather that lead to billion-dollar disasters, most notably the rise in vulnerability to drought, lengthening wildfire seasons and the potential for extremely heavy rainfall and inland flooding.”
Starbucks Unveils Its New Blonde Espresso
Our beloved Starbucks has just unveiled its newest item to the menu. No, it’s not another fancy and colorful frappuccino, but instead a new type of espresso.
According to Popsugar, Starbucks announced the new blonde espresso on Tuesday, which is its first new espresso on the menu in nearly 40 years.
Starbucks said in its press release that the Blonde Espresso is “lighter with a smooth taste,” while Starbucks’ original espresso is “bolder and roastier.”
“We set the standard for a dark, boldly roasted coffee and in this case, we broke a few of our own rules by taking a lighter approach to espresso which created a bright taste with sweet citrus notes and a smooth body,” said Andrew Linnemann, Vice President of Global Coffee for Starbucks. “We are really proud of the roast and think customers are going to love experimenting with it.”
So now you will be able to choose between “Starbucks® Signature” or “Starbucks® Blonde” with all your favorite espresso-based drinks.
Sounds like it might be time for a coffee run! If you haven’t hit up Starbucks for your morning coffee yet, Starbucks’ new espresso definitely sounds worth a try.
What to look out for…
For those of you blessed to live on the West Coast, In-N-Out now has hot cocoa on its menu. So make sure to check out that new menu item!